NoAngel

I have bought XP recently, and I keep receiving emails with .exe attchments from Microsoft <apparantly> saying that they are security updates, this seems a bit odd as it automatically searches for updates so I just delete them. Am I being paranoid ?

stevem2k

There is a virus masquerading as an e-mail from M$ .

The only updates that are real are the auto ones (if you have that bit oc XP turned on) and those via windowsupdate. Anything via e-mail should be binned.

Steve

IanW

http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_99377.htm

http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_99386.htm

Sounds like one of those to me.

Keep deleteing it, and i'll sort out your AV later.

[Edited by IanW - 3/18/2002 10:58:25 AM]

JackClark

Only accept updates delivered by the Microsoft

Critical
Update
Notification
Tool

NoAngel

each email contains a link which takes you to the microsoft site which tells you all about the update, but I am still weary, seeing as its an exe as well.

What do you mean by AV Ian ??

IanW

AV

Anti-Virus

NoAngel

it's the top one that I have recieved , twice now, but me being intelligent as I am ,figured it was a virus not like last time when I opened a virus on my 1 month old computer [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] I was not happy

bioforger

iTrader: (1)

Yeh well done youre not being paranoid just using common sense I never open any .exe's (or other files which can be infected) from sources I dont know; and even if I do, I always check them incase my friends have infected themselves I once got a file from a guy who is in the IT business, it was infected with a rather nasty worm/trojan

NoAngel

yep yep, been there done that, I got the sircam worm, but it never actually did nething, apart from the fact that while I was staring at my desktop Icons started to disapear apart from that, which was fixed, thank you to second chance, it didn't do nething, so whats the point in creating a virus that just sends out emails containg a virus which when it gets to someone elses computer it just sends emails containing the virus, people actually sit down and create these y????

bioforger

iTrader: (1)

coz theyre sad n have nothing else better to do I guess... plus they think its leet to see how far n widespread the virus will go, and I guess how notorious it may become, like I said, sad [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

JackClark

Imagine a room full of people, hands strapped to keyboards, phones implanted into heads. Offered any chance of distraction these people will grasp it. An email arrives on the screen of one of them - from someone they likely know - titled "I hope you can help me with this file that I send", thinking of time away from moaning customers they click the attachment, just trying to help. Within seconds everyone else in the room and any external contact is helping their mates rather than helping the customer that's paying wages. The email system understandably can't cope with this sudden avalanche of helpfullness, new and old customers can't get through - they take their custom elsewhere. The IT team now have the equivalent of a huge jug of milk spilt all over their infrastructure, viruses like milk only start to realy stink once they've been spilt and you can't clean them up quick enough. I could go on.

Viruses don't need a payload to do damage.